I hope that you all survived the holidays! We had a whirlwind of fun and memories here at the Silaika house. The holidays started out very sad for us, however, when my mother's brother passed away unexpectedly. We had a few extra out of town guests just prior to Christmas. It was nice catching up with cousins and extended family. We had a true Irish wake for Uncle Jim. He would have smiled and sang right along with us.
My brother and his wife and their three kids (plus the tree frog) arrived for the funeral and stayed through the holidays. We experienced snow storms - bitter temperatures and lots of fun with 9 kids (11 and under). Life is truly wonderful! Christmas eve was beautiful. We went to the early family service at church and watching the kids sing brought tears to my eyes. I looked over the poinsettias, white lit trees and manger scene from the balcony of the church and knew that I was exactly where I was supposed to be. You see, for the past 13 years, my family gathered as one in Florida to spend the holidays together. No presents, just family getting together. That was our gift to one another. Bring back the true meaning of the holidays. It was not in the cards for us to travel this year. We decided collectively as a family to spend the holidays in NY. Thankfully we did, because everyone was here for Jim's services.
Sure, we did a little more shopping this year....got the wii fit for the kids and they each got some toys (mainly webkinz) and clothes. We still spent a lot of time reflecting on the wonderful gift of Jesus Christ - the purest, most perfect gift of our lives.
Friends of mine have discussed their "word" or what will "define" themselves for the upcoming year. I did a lot of reflecting about what my word would be. I think I have decided that my word for 2009 will be Opportunity. I am hoping that there are several new adventures which I will partake in. Some are going to leave some of you shaking your head...but I hope you will visit the blog often and find out more about these wonderful new opportunities which I will embark on over the coming year.
I will reflect on these new opportunities over the next few weeks. One that I would like to share with you today is my stamping. I really love stamping. It is my favorite means of crafting. I go into my office and explode! I love stamping with my kids, stamping with friends, but I really enjoy crafting in my room, listening to music. I try and get in and create as often as possible. I will continue working with Stampin' Up! ® as a demonstrator. I will also continue to work with Hanna Stamps! along with Riley and Sophie G. stamps. I love creating with these stamps. Next week I will be sharing my January release sneak peeks.
For all you Hanna and Riley/Sophie G. fans - There is a BRAND SPANKIN' NEW discount code valid through January 31, 2009! Just enter the coupon code SUPPORT and you will receive an additional 10% off your entire order! So don't forget to visit http://www.hannastamps.com/ and enter the code SUPPORT! Don't forget: Thursday, January 8 is the next release party over at www.splitcoaststampers.com!Over the holiday, Todd and I were talking to my mom's cousin about an exciting opportunity! She runs medical missions in South America and Africa. Todd was talking to her about the mission trips and their lack of volunteers. If all goes as planned, I will be volunteering on a mission trip in Kenya some time this summer. I am really looking forward to it. I will find out more details soon and share them with you then!
Todd and I are especially pleased with the upturn in the Stock Market the past few days.
I hope that everyone has a healthy and prosperous new year!
1 comment:
This is such a great post. The Christmas Eve service gets me every year. I am glad to know I am not the only one. We were unable to be with family this year for this special night and I missed it. So sorry to hear about your Uncle. Hugs to you.
Dawn B.
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